Brown began by dismissing the recording, calling it a “5-week-old private conversation” before eventually offering a half-hearted apology to Whitman for the “garbled transmission.”

She didn’t accept it. “It’s not just me but the people of California who deserve better than slurs,” Whitman said.

The remark, she said, was “not befitting of the office you are running for.”

Brown began to defend the recording again, saying he was “not even sure it’s legal,” suggesting the campaign had not consented to being recorded. Brown’s former communications director, in his attorney general’s office, resigned after secretly recording interviews with reporters.